Saturday, November 30, 2013

A new biography of Pope Francis hailed in Argentina

A new biography of Pope Francis, based on primary sources and
testimonies, is being praised in Argentina by people who know him as the
most complete and authoritative portrait of him in any language
to-date.

Hundreds of people crowded into one of the most beautiful
bookshops in the world, the Ateneo Grand Splendid in the heart of Buenos
Aires, on November 19, for the presentation of “Francisco: Vida y
Revolucion” (Francis: life and revolution), the new biography of Pope
Francis, written by Elisabetta Piqué, an Argentinean journalist who has
known him since 2001.

Her book is being hailed by many who knew
Bergoglio here as the most complete and authoritative portrait of him in
any language to-date.

“This book is based on solid research, and written from the
heart”, Father Mariano Fazio, former Rector of the Santa Croce (Opus
Dei) university in Rome, told the large audience that included the Papal
Nuncio to Argentina, Archbishop Emil Paul Tscherrig, who, the book
reveals, enjoyed a better relationship with Cardinal Bergoglio, than
did his predecessor.

Rich in testimonies from Jesuits and laity, including many poor
people whom he helped, the 332 page book written by the Rome
correspondent of La Nacion, one of Argentina’s main dailies, is being
published simultaneously in Spanish (by El Ateneo) and Italian (by
Lindau), and negotiations are under way for its release in other
languages too.

Fazio said it communicates well “key aspects of Bergoglio’s
spirituality” and “the humility of the man” who, in countless hitherto
unknown ways, helped the most needy in society and saved many lives
during the military dictatorship. He was one of a panel of 5 that
presented this page-turner book which offers many new insights into the
personality of the first Jesuit Pope, provides an accurate history of
his life as a Jesuit and bishop, and reveals hitherto unknown
information about the conclave that elected him, as well as reporting on
the first six months of his pontificate.

On the panel with Fazio were Rabbi Abraham Skorka, a close
friend of Bergoglio who expects to travel with him to the Holy Land in
2014, Professor Julio Barbaro, the renowned historian of Peronism, and
Father Gustavo Carrara, the ‘vicar’ appointed by Cardinal Bergoglio to
oversee the Church’s mission to the slum-dwellings of this metropolis of
almost 12 million people.

“This very fine book has enriched me
because even though I thought I knew Bergoglio and his spirituality, on
reading it, I discovered many new things hitherto unknown to me”, Rabbi
Skorka said. He praised the author for writing a highly readable book,
“rich with testimonies” of many people from different walks of life
who knew him, which shows clearly that he is “a man truly committed to
dialogue.”

“This is a biography marked by lucidity and passion”, Julio
Barbaro told the overflow audience on the second floor of this
magnificent former theatre and cinema. He highlighted the faith-centered
leadership given by Bergoglio during the turbulent and bloody period in
Argentina’s history immediately before and during the military
dictatorship, and recalled how he rejected both ideologies and
repression, and showed that “the faith is stronger than ideology”.

Barbaro, who was a friend of both Argentina’s former president - Nestor
Kirchner, and Bergoglio, said “Kirchner’s problem was not with Bergoglio
as such, it was with whatever he could not control”. He praised the
book for bringing out Bergoglio’s “striking spirituality” and his
‘revindication of faith over ideology”.

Father Gustavo Carrara warmly welcomed the new biography that
devotes a whole chapter to Bergoglio’s inspiring and courageous ministry
in the “villas miserias” or slum districts of this metropolis where
some 250,000 people live, 43 % of them under the age of 17. He recalled
Bergoglio as “a pilgrim bishop who walked among the people, especially
among the most needy and the last in society”, and called the city’s
believing communities, including those in the slums, to be “a missionary
Church”, and ‘go out to the existential peripheries”.

Bergoglio
highly valued ‘popular piety” and reminded everyone that frequently
“people who are poor in this world are rich in faith”, Carrara said.

He recalled the intense emotion and rejoicing in the villas di miserias
when he was elected Pope, and the powerful impact on them when Francis
appeared for the first time, dressed in white, on the central balcony
of St Peter’s and humbly asked people to pray for their new bishop.

Bergoglio always told his priests and people that “if you take the
Gospel seriously, your life will become more complicated”, Carrara said,
“And if we take Francis seriously, he will complicate our lives too!”

Responding to questions at the end of the book-presentation,
Elisabetta Piquè confirmed that while Pope Francis knew she was writing
the book, she had never involved him in any way in the project because
she felt this was not proper, also given that she was touching such
delicate questions as his relationship to the Roman Curia before
becoming Pope.